Social Vulnerabilities and HIV/AIDS Risk Among African American and Latino Young Men Who Have Sex With Men in Detroit

a PSC Research Project [ARCHIVE DISPLAY]

Investigators: Jose Arturo Bauermeister, Rachel C. Snow

This proposal from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, responds to a special invitation by the Ford Foundation. Using a research-to-practice approach, our goal is to examine how structural (e.g., economic disadvantage, racial segregation, and sexual prejudice) and cultural (e.g., HIV stigma, medical mistrust, and masculinity) factors create community barriers that aggravate the sexual rights of Latino & Black young men who have sex with men (YMSM; ages 18 to 29) living in the Detroit Metro Area (DMA). Project findings will be translated into policy deliverables and disseminated to local, state, and national stakeholders invested in improving the rights of racial/ethnic minorities and YMSM living in DMA.
This project is embedded into a larger network of academic-community partnerships seeking to address structural and community barriers in Detroit. Our project is a collaboration between faculty from the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education and AIDS service organizations (ASO) serving DMA youth and MSM. Pooling resources from various research centers and on-going studies focused on HIV/AIDS risk reduction among youth, the project is well-poised to identify critical policy opportunities. Alongside our community partners, we will provide concrete policy recommendations that promote the rights and social well-being of ethnic minority YMSM, including how policy may optimize on-going psychosocial efforts for ethnic minority YMSM living in DMA.